


Morning Flight

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 23:11:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13557585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Goldie wakes Louisa early one morning after Justin's rescue to show her a surprise.





	Morning Flight

Ever since Lisa had shown it to her, Louisa had loved to climb up the Firgrove Mountains. It required an early start, sure, but there was something so wonderful about rising before dawn to see the sun rising above Jorvik while the sound of Aideen’s song could be heard on the breeze. Usually, she took one of her horses who enjoyed mountain climbing, like her dapple grey Morgan mare Peppermint or her suffer climb-certified light grey Icelandic mare, Katja. Sometimes, she even took her silver fjord stallion Snowbrother or her bay Andalusian mare Smokeeye, to bring back memories of dates that she’d gone on up here with Lisa. But currently, all of those horses were back in their stables, or out in the pasture, for Louisa had chosen another horse to take with her on this chilly morning. Or rather, as was more common, he had chosen her.

Goldmist had found his rider asleep in a pile of hay in the stable, having passed out in her attempt to care for her hundred-some horses. She’d awoken to him lipping at her face, and had screwed her face up at first, thinking that she was pushing a cat away. But then, she’d opened her eyes, only to find a very large, palomino and white horse head right in front of her nose. She’d laughed and pushed his head away gently, Goldie nickering gently.

“Goldie,” Louisa had complained, pulling her dark blue hoodie sleeve down over her hand to wipe away the horse slobber on her face. 

“Come on, I know you worked yourself to sleep yesterday, but get up. There’s something I want to show you,” Goldie had said. 

“Alright, alright,” Louisa had grumbled, yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes. She’d felt completely drained of all energy, but a coffee and a quick shower had managed to wake her a little bit. She’d still been yawning when she’d tacked up Goldie, though. Rather than falling asleep in the saddle, though, the tricky terrain of South Hoof had kept her on the alert, the scent of the dew-damp grass and purple flowers tickling her nostrils. In the distance, she’d been able to hear the wild horses, and the light of South Hoof’s lighthouse had cut through the darkness quite well. 

“Where are we going?” Louisa had asked after Goldie had taken her down to the South Hoof ferry terminal. “It’s too early, Goldie, it’s still dark.”

“You’ll see,” Goldie had said, walking onto the ferry. “Pity you can’t sleep in the saddle.”

“I’d fall out,” Louisa had said, yawning again. The dark water lapping against the sides of the ferry, with the thousands of stars reflected in the dark surface, reminded her of a few times when she’d accompanied her dad out fishing. She’d smiled at the memory, even as tiredness had tugged at her bones.

Fortunately for Louisa, Goldie had decided to gallop the rest of the way, the bright stars lighting their path. But perhaps the inherent magic of the Jorvik Warmblood that Louisa had just discovered a few days ago was guiding him better than any stars or rider could. Regardless of the reason, Louisa had been glad to just enjoy the chill of the peaceful night, though she’d been grateful for Lisa’s hoodie. Despite how thin it was, the magic of wearing a partner’s clothing imbued any article of clothing with warmth that reached the heart. Or so Louisa thought, it was possible that just the thought of Lisa was keeping her warm. Especially now that she was back. And so she’d smiled and looked around at all of the glowing lights that lit the way, including the odd firefly.

But, when Goldie had turned from the Firgrove road and started up the mountain, Louisa’s heart had skipped a beat.

“Is Lisa calling me up here for a date?” she’d asked, her heart pounding slightly despite her shaky limbs from the early hour.

“Not this time,” Goldie had said. “She’s still sleeping.”

“Like a normal person,” Louisa had pointed out. Goldie had scoffed and physically snorted, but had continued up the mountain anyway, taking the path that Louisa knew so well by now. Somehow, despite the dew on the grass, Goldie’s hooves did not slip. Perhaps that, too, was part of his magic.

But now, as she sat atop her horse and watched him spread out his wings beneath her, Louisa had the odd feeling that Goldie had been using some strange form of Pegasus magic to keep himself steady on the climb up. She gazed in amazement at the white and palomino feathers spreading out around her, cocooning her in warmth for a brief moment before Goldie stretched them out again.

“Can I touch them?” asked Louisa, reaching a hand out towards the glorious feathers. Where his wings joined his body, the smaller feathers mixed with fur, and Louisa could feel the muscles beneath.

“It’s just like touching a bird’s wing,” said Goldie with another snort. “But alright, go ahead if you want.” And so Louisa smiled and ran her fingers gently down the softer feathers until she reached the longer feathers, the primaries, she supposed they were called.

“They’re beautiful,” said Louisa, her voice hushed and throat tight as she marvelled in the fact that these wings were very real. “But didn’t they look different yesterday? Or whenever it was that you first sprouted them?” She felt Goldie’s concern that she’d been working so hard that she’d started to forget things, but she ignored it. She couldn’t afford to hire someone to help look after her many horses.

“They were made of pure light at first,” said Goldie. “But they started to grow into actual wings after that. It was itchy.” Louisa grinned and laughed.

“I can imagine,” said Louisa. “But it didn’t… hurt? Like getting new teeth hurts?”

“Somehow, no, it didn’t,” said Goldie, craning his neck to look at her. “Maybe that’s because they were a gift from the magic of Aideen that you possess. Maybe I had them all along. Who knows?”

“Maybe,” said Louisa softly, now stroking Goldie’s wing as she would a chicken. Goldie nickered, looking out over the land that was just starting to brighten with the rising of the sun. His ears twitched as Aideen’s melody began, and Louisa felt it tugging on something inside of her. Something that had only recently awakened, despite the latent power that she’d apparently possessed all this time. The golden rays of the sun bathed her skin and the stone around them, and Goldie stretched out his wings as far as they would go to soak in the warmth.

“Now are you glad I woke you up?” asked Goldie, and Louisa could hear the smirk in his voice. She laughed, stroking his mane now that his wings were away from her.

“Yes,” said Louisa, unable to stop smiling. She felt more awake now, like she always did once the sun hit her skin. She was pretty sure that that was just a regular human thing, though, and not a reincarnated goddess thing.

“How awake are you?” asked Goldie, and suddenly reared up. Louisa cried out and grabbed the reins tightly, clinging tightly with her legs and resisting the instinctual urge to either roll off or throw her arms around his neck. Goldie settled, snorting softly. “Okay, I think that’s good enough.”

“What was that?” asked Louisa, her heart racing now. If the sun hadn’t already woken her, the adrenaline coursing through her veins now surely would have.

“Just making sure you’re awake,” said Goldie, glancing out at the few birds that were now fluttering about. “If you fell from this height, you might not survive.”

“Fell from this height? What do you mean?” asked Louisa.

“Hold on tight and maybe don’t look down,” said Goldie, his cheeky tone belying his years and experience, and reared up slightly before jumping off the cliff and spreading his glorious wings. Louisa shrieked, clinging tightly to him as they plummeted a good few metres.

“Goldie, what are you doing?” Louisa screamed, the wind whipping her words away from her. But, while she was frantic, Goldie seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He flapped his wings a few times once he’d angled himself properly, and they soon climbed into the air.

“Sorry about that,” said Goldie, turning his neck to look at her again. “Perhaps a running start would have been better.”

“It definitely would’ve been better for my heart,” said Louisa, her heart still hammering away.

“Sorry,” said Goldie again, flattening his ears before he pricked them up again. He kept his legs tucked tight to his body, trying to streamline it as much as a horse could, and concentrated on adjusting his feathers so that he could fly easily. Slowly, Louisa calmed down, confident that Goldie knew what he was doing. 

The land actually looked quite beautiful from this vantage point, especially once Louisa managed to at least not acknowledge the fact that she was so high up with only a horse keeping her up here. She had only flown once before, on her way to Jorvik, and that had been in an aeroplane. This was significantly different, and so much more terrifying as a result. But it was also so much more beautiful. They weren’t high up enough to be in the clouds, but they were high enough that the land unrolled below them like a particularly-detailed, country-themed quilt. Louisa smiled as she looked at the land they passed over, the Silversong river winding through the land like a silver road. They followed it down until they reached the bridge to the Harvest Counties, which they flew over before continuing on over Greendale. The animals in the fields below looked tiny, even the massive Shires on Paddock Island when they passed over that. From the sky, Jorvik Stables and Jarlaheim looked even more like castles. But, though they now flew high above it all, there were still some restrictions. As Goldie flew towards the hulking monstrosity of Old Hillcrest, he suddenly whinnied, pulling up in the air.

“What?” asked Louisa, steadying herself.

“They have guns,” said Goldie, motioning with his head to the walls where several GED goons sat atop them, many holding sniper rifles.

“Best keep away from there, then,” said Louisa. Goldie bowed his head in a nod of agreement, then flew out over Greendale, heading for the Forgotten Fields.

“I wonder how far we’re allowed to go,” said Goldie. “We probably shouldn’t go too far on our maiden voyage, though.”

“Not when your wings are still so new,” said Louisa, nodding in agreement. “But let’s try, say… out near the entrance to Mistfall, where the quarantine guys are blocking the tunnel.”

“Well, if I somehow fall out of the sky there, at least the shore is closeby,” said Goldie. Changing direction was easy now, he simply had to bank and turn around, flapping slightly to regain lost altitude. He gave a neigh of delight as he passed over the Forgotten Fields, where a tiny Lisa looked up from a tiny Starshine and waved. Louisa waved back, wondering what they were doing there. She also wondered if Lisa was jealous of her flying ability.

From there, Goldie looped back around and flew back to the mainland of Jorvik, his wingbeats slowing slightly as he began to tire. He flew close to the water, though, so that they wouldn’t have far to fall if they did fall. Louisa saw the shimmering in the air before her horse did.

“Watch out, Goldie, there’s a forcefield there,” said Louisa, pointing. Goldie whinnied, pulling up, but it was too late. The forcefield was like a solid wall, not even bending to a Soul Steed, and it stayed there, shimmering slightly from the impact, as Goldie gently crashed into it and then fell the few metres to the water below, the salty water splashing around them and soaking both of them. Goldie snorted as he shook his head, his wings now waterlogged.

“Well, that was rude,” said Goldie, glaring at the invisible wall. Louisa nodded in agreement, though she laughed. Goldie gave the wall one last filthy look before swimming to shore, where he climbed out and walked onto the grass. Louisa dismounted and quickly darted away as Goldie shook himself dry.

“Want me to take your tack off before you roll?” asked Louisa, stepping closer as Goldie’s skin twitched.

“Yes please,” said Goldie, flicking his tail in an attempt to swat away the itch. Louisa took off the waterlogged tack quickly, knowing that she’d have a lot of maintenance to do now, and left it in a wet pile at the base of a tree as Goldie lay down and rolled, scratching his back and snorting.

“I’ll just be in the apple orchard,” said Louisa, heading in that direction. She plucked an apple from a tree, wiped it on her wet shirt, and took a bite out of it, wishing for a warm breeze to dry her clothes. It was a long ride back to New Hillcrest, especially when dripping wet from an impromptu dunking.

Goldie dripped water as he entered the apple orchard, his wings extended slightly in an attempt to dry them. He stretched up, snagged an apple from a branch, and ate as though he was starving. Which he probably was, flying that far had probably taken up a lot of energy.

“I’ll make you a mash when we get home,” said Louisa, squeezing the water out of her hair. It wasn’t shiny when it was wet, it was just a dark purple where the dye remained. She hadn’t been able to afford getting it redyed, so she was just letting it grow out. She’d probably get it cut soon, if only just to get rid of the ratty purple ends. But first, she had to be able to afford that.

“Well, how was that for a morning surprise?” asked Goldie as he lay down on his stomach, a wing stretched out on either side of him. “Are you glad you got up early now?” Louisa grinned.

“Yes, Goldie, I’m glad I got up early,” said Louisa, smiling. “I’ll just have an early night tonight.”

“I think I will too,” said Goldie with a huff, laying his head down. “It’s exhausting, but worth it.”

“And scary,” said Louisa. “Don’t forget scary.” Goldie snorted, closing his eyes. And, though Louisa knew that sleeping in cold, wet clothes was a recipe for pneumonia, she couldn’t help looking at one of Goldie’s wings. It looked just like a comfy blanket. Goldie opened one eye, lifted his wing, and seemed to smile. Louisa laughed and sat down beside her soul steed, curling up beside him. It was very warm, between his wing and his body. And, when Goldie brought his wing down over her, Louisa closed her eyes and felt the warmth of her soul steed so close warming her to her core.


End file.
